Traffic regulation in Machilipatnam is still a Herculean task as the blame game continues between people and traffic police.
This has resulted in poor management of vehicular movement at any given junction in the country’s second municipal town. Unbearable honking by motorists and frequent traffic jam along the two congested stretches — Kennedy Road and Machilipatnam Main Road — have become common.
A traffic police officer, during a meeting convened by the Inspector General recently, had attributed the problem to rising number of autorickshaws.
According to the police authorities, over 3,200 autorickshaws are plying in the town.
“The police alone cannot control the situation as vehicular traffic is increasing by the day. The vehicle inflow from the National Highway is also turning out to be a problem,” said senior traffic officer P. Rambabu.
“Poor traffic sense and lack of awareness about traffic signals among people in general and autorickshaw drivers in particular is also a reason for frequent traffic snarls. People however complain of lack of proper facilities. The town has barely 25 traffic police personnel. It has no Circle Inspector. On Sundays or holidays, police personnel are deployed to put a check on violators of traffic guidelines.
